City of Rochester

News Release

(Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013) – Mayor Thomas S. Richards announced today that workforce diversity goals are being exceeded at the Midtown Rochester Rising project according to a September Project Labor Agreement (PLA) report. Of the total work hours recorded from all trades to date, 28.2% were credited to minorities and 8.3% were credited to females, surpassing the PLA requirements of 20% and 6.9% respectively. Outside of New York City, these requirements are the highest in the state.

“A great deal of thanks is owed to the building trades unions and contractors in our community who have voluntarily complied and worked with us to improve opportunities for minorities and women,” Mayor Richards continued. “They have stepped up to the plate and are standing behind their pledge to help more people take part in Rochester’s revitalization.”

“It makes sense to have percentages like these, which consider the diverse make-up of the city’s population and we want the workforce and programming to reflect this,” said David Young, President, Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council. “This is what a Project Labor Agreement does, combined with progressive leadership and teamwork in the City of Rochester, for success in the quality of our work and the quality and diversity of our workforce.”

The employment data is evaluated by an independent third party and includes jobs from all subcontractors. Minorities and women have logged more than 29,686 work hours in the 16 months since work started on the project in spring of 2012. These jobs include laborers, equipment operators, surveyors, truck drivers, iron workers, carpenters, masons, plumbers, electricians, roofers and other trades.

Mayor Richards submitted legislation to City Council in December 2011 to establish a PLA to represent the commitment by contractors and building trades unions to control costs and increase women and minority representation among construction firms working on the Midtown Rising development project. PLAs are in place for the Rochester Schools Modernization Program, the Downtown bus terminal project and planned for the Port of Rochester marina and trail project as well as the multi-modal transportation station project.

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News Media: For more information, contact City Engineer James Mcintosh at 428-6828.